Chapter 21
Egg Cracking
Sonic was in shock when he realized that Tails and Eggman didn't recognize him, and it was bringing up a rather unpleasant old memory. "Oh no… Please don't tell me it's like that time all over again…" said Sonic nervously with one hand on his head.
Tails and Eggman stared at him for a few seconds, and then they looked at each other with a shrug. Mega Man walked up to Sonic and asked him, "Um… Are you all right?"
"My best friend over here doesn't recognize me, and my archenemy up there doesn't too! The last time something like this happened, it was a huge mess that took a while to get everything back to normal!" replied Sonic, sounding frustrated.
"I'm afraid I don't get what you're trying to say…" Mega Man said to him, sounding confused.
"Long story short: this is most definitely a different universe with the same people but different backgrounds!" replied Sonic.
The others were both surprised and confused to hear what Sonic said. "What do you mean different universe?" asked a confused Snow White.
"At least that's what I think," Sonic said to her. "You see, there was this one time where I destroyed this crystal called Paradox Prism, and it caused me to be sent to a parallel universe where different versions of people I know exist, but I don't. I made new friends and enemies, all of whom had a hand in help fixing the Paradox Prism and returning the multiverse back to normal.
"I don't know if the Paradox Prism is behind this again, but if Tails and Eggman here don't know who I am, then I can assume that I somehow got transported to a parallel universe where I don't exist once again."
The Nikke and Mega Man were surprised to hear this and didn't know what to think of it. "Whoa… That sounds weird…" commented Red Hood.
"I agree…" said Epinel with a nod.
Tails kept on staring at Sonic as the latter said all that and then asked him, "So you're saying you come from a different universe…?"
Sonic looked at him and said, "Yeah, you may find it hard to believe, but where I'm from, we're best friends and never far from each other! Egghead over there is our enemy who we beat up all the time!"
"Huh, you have an interesting story there! Whether or not you're telling the truth, it will be a pleasure to observe and experiment on an inter-dimensional life form like you to see what secrets can be discovered!" said Eggman with an evil expression.
Sonic got into a fighting stance and said, "The last time mad scientists wanted to find my secrets, things didn't go well for them! You better take think twice before doing that!"
"If I want something, I will have it!" said Eggman before firing two missiles from his Egg Mobile.
Sonic remained in place as the missiles headed for him. But right when the missiles were about to hit him, he seemingly disappeared, and the missiles hit the ground. He was seen standing not too far away, calling out to Eggman. "Too slow!" he taunted.
"What?! When did you get there?!" said Eggman in surprise.
"Wow! He's fast!" commented Tails in shock.
"Fast doesn't even began to describe how fast I am!" said Sonic before running underneath the Egg Mobile. He ran in circles incredibly fast, so fast that he built up a cyclone that surrounded Eggman and made his Egg Mobile unstable.
"What the?! You're a speedster?!" said Eggman in disbelief.
"Wow! That guy's really fast!" said Laplace in awe with sparkling eyes.
Eggman struggled to maintain the stability of his Egg Mobile and not get caught in the sides of the cyclone and get blown away. Sonic leaped up to the same level as him and kicked his ride in the side hard, sending him into side. Eggman went for a spin in the violent spinning wind until it dissipated, causing him to be thrown in a random direction and hitting a cliff wall.
"How's that for an introduction?" said Sonic, striking a pose.
"Wow! You're fast! I mean… some of my friends and I can also run fast too, but you're something else!" Tails said to Sonic. "I think Shadow may be the only person who looks like is on par with you!"
Sonic was surprised to hear that name. "Shadow?!"
The Egg Mobile floated back into the air, and Eggman said in anger, "Argh! You're not what I thought at all, hedgehog! You're reminding me of Shadow, and that makes me furious! You're regret this! Don't run if you dare! I'll be back!" He then flew off not too far away and went to the bottom of a cliff.
"He's getting away!" said Mega Man.
"Eh, he does that all the time. It's like the same Eggman I know," said Sonic. "Knowing him, he'll likely show up again in something bigger and meaner."
As soon as he said that, Eggman returned, this time riding a large winged robot with a drill for one hand and a gatling gun for the other. "Behold, the Egg Dragoon!" he said with pride. "Let's see how you handle this!"
Everyone except Sonic was surprised at the sight of the large robot. "Yeah, yeah, I've seen this before," said Sonic, sounding confident that he could beat it.
BGM: Battle with Egg Dragoon Mk. II (Sonic Forces)
The Egg Dragoon fired energy shots rapidly from its gatling gun at Sonic, and he along with everyone else scattered in different directions to avoid getting shot. Sonic jumped off a nearby rock and towards Eggman, who had his ride swing its drill at him. However, Sonic managed to place his feet against the drill and end up running on top of it. Getting close to the cockpit, Sonic curled into a ball in as he jumped into the air and slammed himself against the glass hard, making the whole thing jerk backwards.
Eggman growled in frustration as Sonic landed back onto the same rock. His ride was then blasted in the side by a yellow energy shot. He looked and saw that Laplace fired at him using her "energy rocket launcher," the Hero Syndrome. "Take this, you villain!" she said out loud as she charged up another shot and fired at the Egg Dragoon.
"Why you little?!" said Eggman in anger. He was going to attack her when he received bombardment from various directions. Looking around desperately, he saw Snow White, Red Hood, Epinel, TA.L.O.S., and Mega Man all firing from their weapons simultaneously at the Egg Dragoon. The combined firepower pushed the robot back through the air and gradually chipped away bits and bits of it.
Sonic watched from the side and said, "Huh, you guys aren't half bad!"
"Argh! You're not making a fool out of me!" said Eggman in anger. The Egg Dragoon raised his arm cannon into the air and charged up a large ball of electricity before firing it at them. The good guys hurriedly scattered, and the electric ball hit the ground, creating a large explosion and shockwave that blew away several things.
Red Hood skid backwards on the ground as she landed in a crouching position. She pointed her sniper rifle at the Egg Dragoon and began firing blasts of orange energy beams rapidly at various parts of the robots, blasting it back with each shot. Eggman was rocked back and forth in the cockpit nonstop.
Laplace took this opportunity to charge up her Hero Syndrome and then fire a concentrated yellow beam, the Laplace Buster, continuously at the Egg Dragon after Red Hood was done firing at it. She aimed the beam at the center of its body, damaging it continuously. After the beam attack ended, there was a badly damaged burnt spot on the part that got hit. Eggman growled in anger as the Egg Dragoon flew towards Laplace with its drill hand emitting electricity.
The drill was swung at Laplace, who leaped high into the air while shooting blasts of energy at the robot multiple times. Eggman kept on trying to hit her, but she dodged the drill strikes with constant movements.
Mega Man got onto Rush, who entered his Rush Jet form, and flew into the air close to the Egg Dragoon. The former's color became red and gray as he fired multiple drills at the spot Laplace previously shot with her Laplace Buster. By the time Eggman noticed that the Drill Bombs were approaching, he was already too late to get away. The drills struck the damaged spot and drilled against it rapidly for a few seconds before exploding, blowing away the outer cover and exposing the inner workings.
"Argh! How can I be getting thrashed by a bunch of people I've never met before?!" said Eggman in anger and disbelief. "What the worst that can happen next?!" He then looked down and saw Snow White pointing her gun, the Seven Dwarves, at him and charging up yellow energy. With an expression that implied surrender, he said, "Darn it…"
When she was done charging, Snow White fired a huge blast of energy at the Egg Dragoon, immediately annihilating it.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BGM Ends
The robot exploded, sending pieces of it flying all over the place. Eggman and his Egg Mobile were hurled out of the explosion and flew far into the distance while spinning uncontrollably. "I'LL GET BACK AT YOU!" he shouted at the top of his voice in anger shortly before disappearing into the horizon.
Sonic and Tails looked at Eggman's defeat in awe, and Tails said, "I can't believe it… You guys defeated Eggman, and I still don't know who you are!"
"Defeating Eggman is nothing new to me, but those guys are cool!" commented Sonic. "Didn't know they had it in them!"
"This fight reminds me of Doctor Wily…" said Mega Man. "Mad scientist riding a giant robot, including a small flying machine and all…"
Hearing this, Tails turned to him and said, "Well, he is partners with Doctor Wily after all."
Mega Man's eyes widened in shock when he heard this. "What?! Doctor Wily is involved as well!"
"You don't know? Our world is currently in danger of being taken over by the combined efforts of Doctor Eggman and Doctor Wily," explained Tails. "With their intelligence and robotic skills combined, they were able to build a large amount of robots and weapons of mass destruction to take over a large portion of the world. One of our greatest fighters, Shadow the Hedgehog, was captured by them, thus weakening our fighting force greatly…"
"I… I didn't know that!" said Mega Man in confusion.
"So that's how it is in this world, huh?" said Sonic, thinking about things with his hand underneath chin. He then turned to Mega Man. "Listen, for all we know, this Doctor Wily guy that you know may not necessary be the same Doctor Wily you know from your world. It's probably a new version who lives in this world has has no history with you."
"Maybe you're right, but I still feel like I can't let any version of Doctor Wily get away with things now that I know he's involved!" said Mega Man.
Laplace asked Tails, "Your hero is a hedgehog named Shadow?"
Tails nodded. "Yeah, and one of our best. He's not the only one. There are some other very strong people fighting for us like, like Protoman and Black Ark Ranger…"
"Protoman?! He's here as well!" said Mega Man in surprise. "Or at least a version of him…"
"Black Ark Ranger?! I know that name! Is she the same person as the one from the Ark?" said Laplace.
"Black Ark Ranger?" asked Red Hood curiously.
"She's a character for a popular TV show known as Ark Rangers," Epinel explained to her. "She's just an actor in real life, so I don't think if she's an actual superhero."
"You underestimate Black Ark Ranger!" said Laplace as she turned to Epinel. "She may be an actress playing a fictional character, but even the actress herself is an awesome and heroic person with a strong sense of justice! I've met her before, and I can tell at first glance that she is more than just a hero in a TV show! She is a real life hero!"
"We have something more concerning to talk about. How did we end up in this place? And who do we get back?" Snow White reminded everyone.
"You're right… We can't just hang out in this unfamiliar place…" agreed Kilo as she poked her head out of T.A.L.O.S.'s body. "We have to find a way to get back. I was actually trying to contact Milli and anyone I'm familiar with, but there was no response at all… In fact, there are no signals belonging to anyone I know!"
"Then I guess we really are in a completely different world…" said Snow White. He then turned to Sonic and asked him, "You were saying earlier that you actually have experience with traveling to different worlds? How did you get back?"
"Well, it was really complicated. I had a lot of help from friends and their tech I made in other universes to get back," replied Sonic. "Not sure if it's possible without them…"
"If you people really are from another world, then maybe the resistance can help out with something," suggested Tails. "But given that everyone is busy with dealing with Eggman and Wily's alliance, I'm not sure if they have the time to help you…"
"How about we help you beat up Eggman and this Wily guy, and then you help us get back to our worlds?" Sonic suggested to him. "From the sound of things, you guys could use a little help!"
"I agree. If Doctor Wily is involved in this, even if he may not be the same one I know, then I can't just sit by and do nothing," said Mega Man. "I have experience dealing with the Doctor Wily of my world, so I will definitely be of help."
"A hero should never leave alone people in need! This world looks like it needs a hero, so I'm ready to help with your problem!" said Laplace.
"I don't see why not. I'd hate to see this world get messed up by some bad guys, so I guess I'll hang out for a while until things are resolved," said Red Hood in agreement.
Snow White looked at Red Hood and asked her, "I want to get this straight now… Are you really Red Hood?"
Red Hood looked at her and replied with a nod, "Yep! In the flesh! You're Snow White, right? You look different from last how I saw you, but I can still tell you're her! You've really grown! Which is strange because Nikke aren't supposed to change physically over time…"
"I had to remodel myself over the years using Rapture body parts," replied Snow White. "So you're saying you're Red Hood… That should be impossible, because the Red Hood I know is already dead. You're probably just a version of her in this world."
"But I have all the memories of the times we were together," insisted Red Hood. She began to bring up all the times the Goddess Squad fought together and also various details of their interactions with each other.
Hearing all those made Snow White surprised. "You know all those… It seems you are indeed the same Red Hood I know!" she said in disbelief. "But I thought you died… Or rather, you went missing one day and was never found, so we all assumed you died…"
"Yeah, it's quite a strange story that I have a hard time believing myself too…" said Red Hood while scratching her cheek. "I thought I was dead too, but now that I'm standing here, I guess I'm still alive… You're probably never going to believe what happened to me…"
"Try me," Snow White said to her.
"Well, simply put… I was inside Rapi's body the whole time…" replied Red Hood nervously.
The others were confused to hear this. "I don't get it…" said Epinel.
"I don't get it either or how it happened in the first place…" said Red Hood. "Somehow, my core ended up inside Rapi's body, so I've been sharing a body with her the whole time, and sometimes when she is in danger, I take over her mind and even alter her appearance to match mines. However, I was supposed to be eliminated from her body for good at one point, so the fact I'm standing here is very strange… Mind you, it was my decision to let Rapi and her team get rid of me from her body. I was at peace with myself departing from this world and letting the next generation fight on."
"Huh… You have quite a story there, even though I don't really understand anything…" said Sonic with his arms crossed.
"How come Counter never told me anything about this?" asked Snow White.
"I had them record a video of me giving you a final message. Guess they haven't gotten around to giving it to you yet…" said Red Hood. "Oh, and I ran into Dorothy too. She also had a hard time believing that I was alive, and when she did, she kept on begging me to help restore Goddess Squad to its former glory and whatnot, but I told her to let go of the past."
Snow White sighed. "Dorothy has changed a lot, and understandably so… She's been through a lot of traumatizing events after you were gone."
"Yeah, I can tell… Hope she's cooled down ever since…" said Red Hood.
"Regardless, it's nice to see you again, Red Hood," Snow White said to her.
"Nice to see you again too, Snow White! It's been decades!" said Red Hood with a smile. Without a warning, she tossed herself at Snow White and gave her a tight hug, much to the surprise of the latter, but she smiled and hugged back too.
The others watched with smiles, even though they didn't get the whole story, but they could still tell that these two were good friends who got separated from each other for a long time already and finally met again. "Who would've though that coming to a different universe can be so heartwarming! It's not a bad thing after all!" said Sonic.
"So… you guys want to come over to our headquarters? I'm sure the others will be glad to have you around once they learn about what you are capable of," said Tails.
As everyone began following Tails, Red Hood was thinking about something in her head. "Gate… keep… What is this unfamiliar memory I have? Must be something related to Rapi..."
Eggman sat up from his Egg Mobile and rubbed his head. After getting blasted away, his ride crashed quite a distance away, but he somehow survived. Just as he was groaning in pain and frustration, a small screen on his control deck turned on, showing the image of an old mustached man with limited hair on his head. "Eggman, what happened?" asked the man. "I got a message here that something happened to your Egg Mobile, so I called you immediately."
"A bunch of brats I've never met before showed up out of nowhere just when I was about to get my hands on Tails and gave me a beating, as much as I hate to say this…" replied Eggman in frustration.
"That's new," said the old man. "If Tails is with them, then I assume they are part of the resistance army, members we have yet to met."
"Whatever the case is, they've got some heavy hitters with them at the moment… And just when we thought we've weakened their fighting force by capturing Shadow…" grumbled Eggman as he began taking out tools to fix his Egg Mobile.
"Then we'll have to strengthen our forces and also make sure they don't rescue Shadow," said the old man.
"I'll show them soon that they've messed with the wrong person!" said Eggman while fixing his ride.
A pair of sliding doors leading into a base filled with computers and machines opened up, and Tails stepped in with his otherworldly allies. Kilo was by herself and not with T.A.L.O.S. Waving his hand at the people inside, he said, "Guys! I'm back!"
A red echidna turned to him and said in concern, "Tails! Where were you? We've been trying to get in contact with you for a while already, but there was no response!"
"Yeah, sorry for the worry… I got attacked by Eggman…" replied Tails. "But it's all right. I'm back safe and sound!"
A pink hedgehog wearing a red dress noticed the people behind him and asked, "Who are those people?"
Sonic looked at her and said, "Well of course, they have a Knuckles and Amy Rose here too. It's like a universal rule!"
"Maxwell?!" said Laplace in shock when she noticed an orange-haired woman wearing a white tank top and gray robotic-looking pants in the room. She immediately ran up to her. "Maxwell! You're here as well? Boy, am I glad to see you!"
The woman was freaked out by her behavior and took a step back. "Who are you?! And how do you know my name?!"
Laplace was confused. "What are you talking about? It's me, Laplace! Are you trying to pull a joke on me?"
"No seriously, who are you?" asked Maxwell. "I've never seen you before, and you suddenly rush up to me, claiming to know me! Okay, maybe I am famous enough for you to have heard of me, but your behavior still creeps me out…"
Laplace was even more confused than before. "What the heck?! Maxwell! What's wrong with you?! Did you get memory wiped or something?! You're not being like yourself! It's me, Laplace! Have you seen Syuen and Drake anywhere? What's going on here? Why are you here?"
Laplace closed in on Maxwell and grabbed her waist, freaking out the latter even more and making her cry for help. A red robot suddenly grabbed Laplace from behind and yanked her away. "Keep your hands off her!" said the robot as he threw her onto the floor.
"Omega?!" said Sonic in surprise when he saw the robot.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" said Laplace in anger as the robot pointed his arm cannon at him.
"You are an unfamiliar face here, so that would make you an intruder! Give me a reason not to blow you up!" said the robot named Omega in an aggressive tone.
"You want a piece of me?!" said Laplace angrily as she readied her energy rocket launcher.
Tails hurriedly got in between them and said, "Stop! The both of you! Let's calm down and have everything explained slowly first!"
Sonic walked up to Laplace and touched her shoulder, "Chill out, will you? That Maxwell woman isn't the same one you know if she doesn't recognize you!"
"What's going on here?" asked a person as he stepped into the room. He has a relatively fat body and wears a military outfit, one that implies he is a high-ranking unit.
Epinel saw him and said, "Isn't that the Central Government officer Burningum?"
"You're right… It is him!" said Kilo.
Burningum saw the newcomers to the place and then asked, "Who are these people?"
Tails raised his hand and replied, "I brought them here, and I can explain."
For the next several minutes, Tails explained to the resistance members about how he was attacked by Eggman while in Green Hill, but Red Hood showed up out of nowhere to save him, and then the other people showed up to fight and defeat Eggman with ease.
"They really defeated Eggman that easily?" said Knuckles in disbelief.
"That's probably the first time I've heard him being defeated so fast!" said Amy.
"I can do faster, if given the right circumstances," claimed Omega.
Burningum had his hand underneath his chin in interest as he heard the story. "Interesting… So these people come from other worlds where different versions of Doctor Eggman and Doctor Wily exist, so they have experience dealing with them. That explains how they were able to defeat the former so easily."
"Yep! Eggman is the same wherever I go! For the most part…" said Sonic.
"How can we be sure these people are telling the truth?" said Maxwell. "Tails may be vouching for them, but for all we know, some kind of foul play is going on…"
"You don't trust me…?" Tails said to her in shock.
"If Tails say so, then I believe him," Amy said to Maxwell. "We need all the fighting power we need right now if we want to win against Wily and Eggman."
"Amy is right. We need all the fighting power we need against those two," said Burningum in agreement. "As we stand, we are at a disadvantage against those two. Losing Shadow is a big blow for us. Even with Doctor Light and his robots' support, it is still not enough. Any help we can get now is necessary."
Hearing a familiar name, Mega Man said, "Doctor Light is here as well?"
"So you know Doctor Light? Yes, he is one of our top scientists, providing us with advance tech and weapons for fighting against our enemies," Burningum told him. "But even so, there's only so much he can do…"
"Then you can count on us to get the job done!" Sonic assured him. "It doesn't matter which Eggman this is, he's going down all the same!"
"A hero like me was created to fight evil, so I'll definitely take down all the villains you are having trouble against!" said Laplace.
"If you can really help us against Eggman and Wily, then it would be very appreciated!" said Burningum. "But I would still like to see what you are capable of first."
"You want to put them through a simulation test?" Maxwell asked him.
"Knowing their strengths and weaknesses will be vital. They may have defeated Eggman in their first try, but who knows if they are indeed up to the task for future trials," replied Burningum.
"Bring it on! I'm going to pass through whatever test you're giving me with flying colors!" said Sonic with confidence.
Soon afterwards, the otherworlders were taken to a large empty room. "This is the simulation room?" asked Epinel, looking around with her gun in hand.
A window was on a nearby wall, where some people were looking through at the participants. "We will be pitting you against replicas of robots created by Eggman and Wily," Maxwell told them. "Their attacks are harmless, though it can still be painful. All you have to do is destroy them all, and we'll be judging every bit of your action."
"I'm more than ready! Bring it on!" said Red Hood as she finished flexing her arms and then picked up her sniper rifle.
The wall on one side of the room opened up, and machines resembling crabs and spiders came walking in. The Nikke were shocked to see these machines. "Raptures?!"
"You know those things?" asked Mega Man, who was in his battle form and with his arm cannon ready.
"Enemies from our world… I can't believe this world has them as well!" said Snow White in disbelief.
"Rapture are combined effort creations of Eggman and Wily, and probably one of their most successful creations to date," Maxwell told them. "We managed to capture some and reverse engineered them for training purposes. Try to destroy them all if you can."
"It'll be done before you can say start!" said Sonic as he crouched down, ready to began running, while the others readied their firearms for battle.
TO BE CONTINUED
You can probably tell by now that this arc will be based on Sonic Forces, but obviously, things won't be the exact same due to the presence of Mega Man elements. Please look forward to what this Sonic/Mega Man fusion arc have in store!